BILL NUMBER: AJR 21	CHAPTERED  09/14/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   112
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 14, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 8, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 31, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JULY 8, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JULY 6, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Runner and Romero
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aanestad, Ackerman, Alquist, Aroner,
Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin, Baugh, Bock, Briggs, Calderon,
Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis,
Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra, Florez, Frusetta, Gallegos, Granlund,
Havice, Hertzberg, Honda, House, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach,
Lempert, Leonard, Longville, Lowenthal, Maddox, Maldonado, Margett,
Mazzoni, McClintock, Migden, Nakano, Olberg, Oller, Robert Pacheco,
Pescetti, Reyes, Scott, Shelley, Soto, Steinberg, Strickland,
Strom-Martin, Thompson, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent,
Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, and Zettel)

                        MAY 12, 1999

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 21--Relative to child sexual abuse.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 21, Runner.  Child sexual abuse.
   This measure would respectfully urge the President and Congress to
reject and condemn any suggestions that sexual relations between
children and adults, except for legal marriage relationships, are
anything but abusive, destructive, exploitive, reprehensible, and
punishable by law.




   WHEREAS, Children are a precious gift and responsibility; and
   WHEREAS, The spiritual, physical, and mental well-being of
children is our sacred duty; and
   WHEREAS, No segment of our society is more critical to the future
of human survival and society than our children; and
   WHEREAS, Children who have been sexually abused often experience
health problems, eating disorders, learning difficulties, behavioral
problems, fearfulness, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, and
suicidal thoughts; and
   WHEREAS, Psychologists, as researchers, educators, service
providers, and policy advocates, have played important roles in
advancing knowledge regarding the consequences, effective treatment,
and prevention of child sexual abuse; and
   WHEREAS, It is the obligation of all public policymakers not only
to support but also to defend the health and rights of parents,
families, and children; and
   WHEREAS, Information endangering to children is being made public
and, in some instances, may be given unwarranted or unintended
credibility through release under professional titles or through
professional organizations; and
   WHEREAS, Elected officials have a duty to inform and counter
actions they consider damaging to children, parents, families, and
society; and
   WHEREAS, California has made sexual molestation of a child a
felony and has declared parents who sexually molest their children to
be unfit; and
   WHEREAS, Virtually all studies in this area, including those
published by the American Psychological Association, condemn child
sexual abuse as criminal and harmful to children; and
   WHEREAS, The American Psychological Association repudiates and
disassociates itself from any organization or publication that
advocates sexual interaction between children and adults; and
   WHEREAS, The American Psychological Association in July 1998,
published a review of 59 studies of college aged students that
indicates that some sexual relationships between adults and children
may be less harmful than believed, and that some of the college
students viewed their experience as positive at the time they
occurred or positive when reflecting back on them; now, therefore, be
it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the President and
Congress to reject and condemn, in the strongest honorable written
and vocal terms possible, any suggestions that sexual relations
between children and adults, except for those that may be legal in
the various states under statutes pertaining to marriage, are
anything but abusive, destructive, exploitive, reprehensible, and
punishable by law; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature condemns and denounces all
suggestions in the recently published study by the American
Psychological Association that indicates sexual relationships between
adults and "willing" children are less harmful than believed and
might even be positive; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature encourages competent investigations
to continue to research the effects of child sexual abuse using the
best methodology so that the public and public policymakers may act
upon accurate information; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, the majority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States.
